Worldfocus

01/28/2009 :: 02:37:41 AM
Jin Says:

Looking for a transcript of Bin Laden’s address of the 14th January - remarkably difficult to find - why is this so?

01/16/2009 :: 11:31:35 AM
Ash Says:

Dominic
you are right in numbers 1 and 2 they make alot of sence
i hope obama is the one to find a solution.
george bush and his father created these conflicts i hope obama will end them

01/16/2009 :: 10:29:10 AM
susan Walsh Says:

Shaul: They may be Israeli invention, but with American money and American education. Many Jews after milking America of it resources ( education, welfare, technology, and training) immigrate to Israel and register their inventions their. Then we see people like claim that Israel invented such and such. Without the US money, protection at the UN and elsewhere and technology, Israel can not survive a second

01/16/2009 :: 01:05:01 AM
Dominic Says:

Solutions to the Isreali-Palestinian conflict and to the conflicts between East African nations of the Great Rift Valley

The core of my ideas is that most conflicts in the world are related to territorial disputes over natural resources and access to land for agriculture. A hot bed of conflicts is distributed in several nations along the tectonic ‘Afar Triple Junction’, which is a collection of large pieces of Earth’s crust that have initiated breaking apart several tens of millions of years ago. You may recall that the Afar Triple Junction extends northward in the Red Sea (which is red because of the iron exuded from the rift on its floor) and all the way to northern Israel and Lebanon, eastward into the Gulf of Aden (between Somalia and the Arabian Plate) and southward cutting through the horn of Africa all the way south to Mozambique. This is a classic tectonic triple junction and is textbook knowledge in geology.

My research (I am a research scientist in biogeochemistry in Washington DC) has led me to recognize that rift zones over geological time scales are sites of high nutrient abundance in soils and lakes, which create ideal conditions for agriculture, in the modern day. This is one of the fundamental reasons for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (northern rifting arm of the Afar Triple Junction) as well as several conflicts in east African countries that include Somalia (eastern rifting arm of the Afar Triple Junction) and Kenya, Tanganyika, Mozambique, Tanzania, Dem. Rep. Congo, Zambia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda (all situated in the southern arm of the triple junction).

1) The Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel was created on November 29th 1947 on some of the most fertile lands in the Middle East and actually occupies *the* most fertile lands west of the rift zone (as defined by the linear array of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea). In the following figure you can visualize the borders of Israel as defined by the United States, Great Britain and the USSR through the United Nations in 1947 (see website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_General_Assem
bly_Resolution_181). The irony is that the current frontiers of Palestine are constricted to a small strip (Gaza) and largely occupied territories (West Bank, Golan Heights and Shebaa Farms) that are relatively infertile and secluded compared to the nutrient-rich soils of the state of Israel (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
West_Bank_%26_Gaza_Map_2007_(Settlements).jpg)

The solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to pressure Israel (and only the President of the United States has this kind of power) to surrender the occupation of the Palestinian territories as well as negotiate peace treaties with Damascus over the Golan Heights, and with Beirut over the Shebaa Farms. Israel has been uncompromising with the Palestinians and has refused to engage in talks with them, but the only person they will listen to is the President of the United States. The AIPAC will lobby as much support from you as they can, but they have no long-term solutions to satisfy both sides of this conflict. Please, realize that the fertility of the land of Palestine and Israel is one of the fundamental reasons for this conflict and I strongly encourage you to consider negotiation on these four specific issues with Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority to arrive at a solution to liberate these lands. Clearly related to these issues is the status of Jerusalem, which should be an international city under the jurisdiction of the United Nations (and the capital of neither Israel nor Palestine) and the southern Gaza strip along the border with Egypt. The 1947 borders of Israel are the only borders recognized by the United Nations and the current borders of Israel have so far not been recognized by any nation on Earth, including the United States. The problem in the Middle East is thus summarized by this observation: Israel is occupying all the most fertile lands of Palestine! I am certainly NOT advocating that Israel disappears, this should NOT be allowed, but its boundaries should be established according to the original UN resolution. I urge you to understand and consider these statements carefully as these conditions are necessary for most moderate leaders in the Muslim world. Fighting terrorism intelligently means to rely on historical facts and scientific truths! Also remember that as long as a nation occupies the territory of another nation, there will be popular resistance, which is distinct from terrorism.

2) East African conflicts

In parallel with the rift in the Middle East are the conflicts in the east African nations along the rift zone of the Afar Triple Junction. No wonder all these nations are all at war or recently have been: they are all along the edge this rift zone, which is known to create highly fertile lands and soils ideal for agriculture and also to exude precious metals in sediments from Earth’s interior. Such natural resources are worth fighting for, in the mind of a few warlords, and as long as this is not recognized, and the focus remains on ethnicity and/or religion, there will be no peace in that part of the world…

About Somalia. Considering the strategic geographical position of Somalia, I strongly believe that the Somalis deserve a cut of the trade through the Gulf of Aden. To achieve this in a fair and democratic way, the president of the United States should build a conglomerate of leading nations along with the concerned east African nations to strongly support fair and open elections in Somalia (spearheaded by the United Nations). These days present a good opportunity to initiate the implementation of such changes since there is a power vacuum in Somalia due to Ethiopia’s ongoing departure, but there is still no open civil war there. M. President, it is your time to act for this part of the world that is within your blood and which should be dealt with zeal and scientific considerations.

About east African nations. Along the Great African Rift, there are fertile lands and plains with some of the deepest lakes on Earth (e.g. Tanganyika), the greatest land mammal migrations in the world, fertile lands for agriculture (tea, coffee, sugarcane, bananas, etc.) and extensive reserves of natural resources exuded from Earth’s interior by the rift (phosphate, potash, cobalt, gold, zinc, tin, iron, lead, copper, etc.). These rapidly changing fertile lands include Kenya, Tanganyika, Dem. Rep. Congo, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Ethiopia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda. Basically the East African rift is rich in natural resources and this fact needs to be acknowledged as a fundamental reason for the resolution of the various conflicts in these nations. Details on the territorial disputes in east Africa are beyond the scope of this letter, but I urge you to consider scientific facts in the resolution of these conflicts.

3) The war against Al-Qaida

It had been a long time that we had not heard from Osama bin Laden. Now that the Palestinian resistance fighters are becoming exhausted in their fight in Gaza, bin Laden sends a video card… Al-Qaida is clearly the enemy in the Middle East, not the Palestinians who are resisting the occupation. The United States and Al Qaida both have this problem in common: Israel’s occupation of Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Shebaa Farm. All these key places are at the center of this third major world conflict in human history. The same problems therefore can be solved with the same solution!!!!! Liberate Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Jerusalem.

I know that all these problems are easily emotional, but we have to recognize that solutions to these old wars are only achievable through logic, historical facts and scientific information. Of course, it goes without saying that I would be excited and happy to talk about this in more details (as well as several other related ideas on Pakistan-India and other places) with you in the White House.

Best regards,
Dominic

01/15/2009 :: 11:37:43 PM
Shaul Says:

The comments above show little understanding of the Middle East. Israel can and will stand on its own. But Israel’s survival is in the US’ interest. A great many advances (the cellphone, the flash drive, the pillcam, …) all have major Israeli input.

If Israel were to disappear, Islamist hostility would simply find another outlet. There are so many pretexts - Kashmir, southern Thailand, Nigeria, … . Bin Laden has talked of recovering Spain. At core, the Islamist violence comes from decades of indoctrination, now accelerated by the internet, and repressive governments using hatred for others as a distraction.

If anything, the disappearance of Israel would simply be interpreted as a sign of US and Western weakness and increase the likelihood of more terror. The frequently stated goal is to bring the world under control of Islam.

01/15/2009 :: 11:30:43 PM
Dorn L Says:

Tonight, Thursday 15 January, you ran pieces on the visit of UN Secretary General Ban Kyi-Moon, UNWRA’s Andrew Whitely, Israel’s Channel 10, and the Chrisitan Science Monitor’s Ilene Prusher. All pieces pointed fingers at Israel.

Martin Savidge did not challenge UNWRA’s Andrew Whitely when the latter said there could not have been fire from the UN compound at Israelis. How could Mr. Whitely be so certain? UNWRA staff in Gaza are almost entirely Palestinian activists and many are Hamas members. The certainty with which Mr. Whitely answered casts doubt on his honesty. Often in the past, UNWRA has been shown to lie, to shelter terrorists, to distort issues about what is taught in its schools.

As always, we were told about the casualty rate, with the claim that more than 380 (I think) of the 1000 Palestinian casualties are children and teenagers. If true, it is tragic. Any number of child fatalities is tragic. However, we don’t know that the figures mentioned by Hamas sympathizers are any more reliable
than those proffered by Hezbollah in the 2006 war. These figures may be
manipulated for propaganda purposes. Hamas fighters could well be counted as civilians (as was done by Hezbollah), and the child count may be exaggerated.

But more than that, in no other conflict, is there constant mention of the casualty count. Even in the height of the Iraq war, there was not constant mention that (e.g.) “100 000 Iraqis have lost their lives, more than half civilians”. According to some reports, more civilians than that did die in Iraq. Yet it was not a constant refrain.

The same goes for the war in Afghanistan - or fighting in Sri Lanka, or Turkish raids on the Kurds, or Pakistani raids in its “tribal areas”. In World War II with Japan, the number of US casualties was less than 200 000 while
about 2.5 million Japanese lost their lives. Does this casualty count
reflect US culpability? Of course not. Japan started the war, just as Hamas did. They bear ultimate responsibility.

Moreover, Israel has protected its civilians through sirens and bomb shelters. Israel has warned Palestinians by dropping leaflets and sending cellphone messages. In contrast, Hamas has fought from civilian areas, has stored artillery and explosives inside mosques and in schools. It has used human shields. Its leaders sit in bunkers underneath hospitals, while it denies shelter to civilians in its tunnels.

When will World Focus report this? When will it ask why most aid is still coming through Israel, and so little through Egypt? When will it ask why Egypt never allowed temporary refuge in Egypt to residents of southern Gaza?

Sincerely,
Prof. D. Lubinsky (Atlanta)

01/15/2009 :: 03:26:07 PM
Wheaton College » In the news » Isolating terrorists Says:

[...] Source: Worldfocus (on PBS) [...]

01/15/2009 :: 05:30:17 AM
Shirlie Slater Says:

The massacre of 1,000 plus Palestinians and the maiming of thousands more was accomplished by the thieving, murderous, psychopathic state of Israel deploying American jets, helicopters, tanks, missiles, bombs CONNED OUT OF AMERICAN WORKERS BY ISRAELI AGENTS IMBEDDED IN OUR GOVERNMENT. We can no longer stand helplessly by and watch while the rogue, apartheid, gang of thieves that calls itself “Israel” continues to commit murder and mayhem in violation of human rights, international law, UN resolutions and AMERICAN LAW WHICH PROHIBITS GIVING ARMS OR MONEY TO A STATE THAT USES OUR RESOURCES FOR MURDER AND MAYHEM AND LAND AND RESOURCE THIEVING.

01/14/2009 :: 06:44:14 PM
annjell Says:

That’s why it is in America’s interest to stop being the No.1 supporter of Israel. It causes the America’s to much problems, problems we otherwise wouldn’t have.

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=100386
2 websites maintained by NATO & US Army defaced by Turkish group Agd_Scorp/Peace Crew as a protest against Gaza

Israel needs to stand on its own. If they want to stay where they are, let them stay. Afterall, these are adults making this decision.